heathercphipps Gratitude, Happiness, Positivity, Traditions, Uncategorized

End of an Era

I’m sad about something silly. I fully acknowledge it’s silly, but I am genuinely melancholy about it.

We started our vacation with our usual bonus stop in Lincoln to get DaVincis. It’s been one of my favorite places since 1988 when I first tried their hot roast beef sandwich and cheese bread. If you know, you know.

I went to Wesleyan for my undergrad, and I didn’t have a car until senior year. You could really only get two things delivered to Wesleyan in the late 80s and early 90s. (Yes, I am dating myself.)

DaVincis. And Dominoes.

I have never been a fan of what we not-so-affectionately referred to as death disks, so DaVincis got my business. From freshman and sophomore years in Johnson Hall through junior year in the apartment we shared to senior year when we lived on the top floor of the scary house, it was a constant.

I love DaVincis hot roast beef sandwiches.

When we were first married, Justin and I would drive back down to Lincoln on weekends to get them. For a brief, shining moment, there was one at 132nd and Dodge in Omaha. It was always packed. It took forever to get through to them to place a take-out order. But it closed almost as soon as it opened.

Over the years, when we would head west for any reason, we’d stop in Lincoln to eat there. During Covid, we’d drive down for carry out and stop at the park near campus to eat. We picked up sandwiches when we met my parents outside Old Main for a Covid-friendly, outdoor play on the green.

It’s been part of my life for 35 years.

This time when we made it a point to stop by for lunch on our way out of town, I noticed something missing from the menu. You guessed it. No more roast beef sandwiches.

What?!?!

I know it’s just a sandwich, mind you the best hot roast beef sandwich on the planet. I know it’s silly to be genuinely sad about it being gone. But I am.

I also know that mostly I’m sad that I won’t bite into it and remember. Remember freshman year when I would hide out in the garden level lounge until Pam and Missy would rescue me and let me crash in their room. Remember Picture Man and a crazy photo shoot at a hotel. Remember dressing up and taking pictures with Santa at the mall. Remember stealing Easy Cheese from the guys who lived above us. Remember when we realized that the house we were renting only had a bathtub and not a shower.

Those were good times. And somehow as long as I could drive to Lincoln and enjoy a little DaVincis, it still felt like yesterday.

So I’m going to let myself be sad that my favorite sandwich is no more. And I’m going to be grateful for all of those relationships that are still so dear to me.

heathercphipps Family, Gratitude, Parenting, Positivity, Uncategorized

An Abundant Life

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There is nothing like a major life celebration to reveal the true abundance in your life.  My daughter got married Friday.  Her dress was stunning.  The reception hall was beautiful.  The food was delicious, and the dance was a blast.  But if none of that had been true, it would still have been a success.

My daughter and son-in-law were surrounded by family and friends who laughed with them, cried with them, toasted them from the heart, and frankly suffered through outrageous heat to get some beautiful pictures that they’ll treasure forever.

There were memorials and moments of silence.  There were hysterical stories about their childhoods, and person after person shared that they knew that they would marry each other…almost from the moment they met.

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Their lives are abundant.

They are very young, still in college, and working many hours a week to make ends meet.  They do their laundry at our house and drive cars that overheat and break down.  They do not have a lot of money or expensive possessions, and they have some lean years ahead of them like most young married couples.

But their lives are abundant…and so is mine.

One of my best friends married them.  Another one sat next to me while the best man, and my daughter and my husband reduced me to tears with their toasts.   Many of my friends drove miles, flew miles, and made arrangements to be there on a Friday afternoon to watch her say her vows, to hold me over and over as I cried tears of joy, and to dance with me as we celebrated.

We build a life relationship by relationship.  And this week I was surrounded by the people in my life with whom I have forged those relationships.  Those people, and their love, are the abundance in our lives.  Not money.  Not things.  People.  Never has that been more clear to me.

I was supported and encouraged every day of this past week by friends who reminded me to relax and to enjoy the experience.  One of my favorite texts came Wednesday afternoon.  “I have no idea what you are doing at this exact moment, but I am 100% sure that the correct advice is ‘Calm down!'”

Then I didn’t sleep well Thursday night, and on Friday morning I texted a friend that it “might be a rough day”.  The response was perfect.  “Power through and choose to make it a great day.  Or cancel the whole thing.  Those are your choices.”  Pretty great to have people in your life who know you well enough to set you straight when you need a reminder…and who read you well enough to text you whenever you need someone to remind you to “Relax!”

The relationships in our lives are everything.  Because of those relationships, my life is abundant.  Focus your energy on people, not things.

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The most wonderful thing about this experience for me has been to witness that same abundance in the life of my daughter and her husband.  They are surrounded and supported by people who love them unconditionally.  Their lives are truly abundant, and for that I am most truly grateful.

The delicious cake was just a bonus!